Dozois, Gardner 1947- (Gardner R. Dozois, Gardner Raymond Dozois)

PERSONAL:

Born July 23, 1947, in Salem, MA; son of Raymond (a factory worker) and Dorothy Dozois.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Philadelphia, PA. Agent—Virginia Kidd, Box 278, Milford, PA 18337.

CAREER:

Writer and editor. Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine, associate editor, 1976-77, editor, 1985-c. 2004. Editor of Isaac Asimov Presents novel line. Military service: U.S. Army, 1966-69; served as military journalist.

MEMBER:

Science Fiction Writers of America.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Nebula Award for best short story, Science Fiction Writers of America, 1983, for "The Peacemaker," and 1984, for "Morning Child"; Locus Award for best anthology, 2007, for The Year's Best Science Fiction: Twenty-third Annual Collection; Sidewise Award in short form category, 2007, for "Counterfactual"; several Hugo Awards for his work as an editor.

WRITINGS:

(With George Alec Effinger) Nightmare Blue, Berkley Publishing (New York, NY), 1975.

The Fiction of James Tiptree, Jr., Algol Press (New York, NY), 1977.

Visible Man, Berkley Publishing (New York, NY), 1977.

Strangers, Berkley Publishing (New York, NY), 1978.

(With Jack M. Dann) Slow Dancing through Time, Ursus Imprints (Kansas City, MO), 1990.

Geodesic Dreams: The Best Short Fiction of Gardner Dozois, St. Martin's Press (New York, NY), 1992.

Strange Days: Fabulous Journeys with Gardner Dozois, edited by Timothy Szczesuil and Ann A. Broomhead, privately published, 2001.

(With George R.R. Martin and Daniel Abraham) Hunter's Run, HarperVoyager (London, England), 2007.

EDITOR; SCIENCE FICTION SHORT STORY ANTHOLOGIES

A Day in the Life, Harper (New York, NY), 1972.

(Contributor) Chains of the Sea: Three Original Novellas of Science Fiction, by Geo. Alec Effinger, Gardner R. Dozois [and] Gordon Eklund, T. Nelson (Nashville, TN), 1973.

(With Jack M. Dann) Future Power, Random House (New York, NY), 1976.

Another World, Follett (Chicago, IL), 1977.

Best Science Fiction Stories of the Year, Dutton (New York, NY), 1977-1981.

(With Jack M. Dann) Aliens!, Pocket Books (New York, NY), 1980.

(With Jack M. Dann) Unicorns!, Ace Books (New York, NY), 1982.

(With Jack M. Dann) Magicats!, Ace Books (New York, NY), 1984.

(With Jack M. Dann) Beastiary!, Ace Books (New York, NY), 1985.

The Year's Best Science Fiction, Bluejay (New York, NY), St. Martin's Press (New York, NY), 1986-2007.

(With Jack M. Dann) Mermaids, Ace Books (New York, NY), 1986.

(With Jack M. Dann) Sorcerers!, Ace Books (New York, NY), 1986.

(With Jack M. Dann) Demons!, Ace Books (New York, NY), 1987.

The Best from Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine, Ace Books (New York, NY), 1988.

(With Jack M. Dann) Dogtails!, Ace Books (New York, NY), 1988.

Transcendental Tales from Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine, foreword by Charles Ardai, Donning (Norfolk, VA), 1989.

(With others) Writing Science Fiction and Fantasy, St. Martin's Press (New York, NY), 1991.

(And contributor) Pulphouse Science-Fiction Short Stories, Pulphouse (Eugene, OR), 1991.

(With Jack M. Dann) Unicorns II, Ace Books (New York, NY), 1992.

Modern Classics of Science Fiction, St. Martin's Press (New York, NY), 1992.

(With Jack M. Dann) Invaders!, Ace Books (New York, NY), 1993.

(With Jack M. Dann) Dragons!, Ace Books (New York, NY), 1993.

(With Mike Resnick) Future Earths: Under South American Skies, DAW Books (New York, NY), 1993.

Modern Classic Short Novels of Science Fiction, St. Martin's Press (New York, NY), 1993.

Isaac Asimov's War, Ace Books (New York, NY), 1993.

(With Sheila Williams) Isaac Asimov's Cyberdreams, Ace Books (New York, NY), 1994.

Killing Me Softly: Erotic Tales of Unearthly Love, HarperPrism (New York, NY), 1995.

(With Sheila Williams) Isaac Asimov's Skin Deep, Ace Books (New York, NY), 1995.

(With Sheila Williams) Isaac Asimov's Ghosts, Ace Books (New York, NY), 1995.

(With Jack M. Dann) Angels!, Ace Books (New York, NY), 1995.

(With Sheila Williams) Isaac Asimov's Vampires, Ace Books (New York, NY), 1996.

Modern Classics of Fantasy, St. Martin's Griffin (New York, NY), 1997.

Dying for It: More Erotic Tales of Unearthly Love, HarperPrism (New York, NY), 1997.

(With Sheila Williams) Isaac Asimov's Christmas, Ace Books (New York, NY), 1997.

(With Jack M. Dann) Timegates, Ace Books (New York, NY), 1997.

(With Sheila Williams) Isaac Asimov's Moons, Ace Books (New York, NY), 1997.

The Good Old Stuff: Adventure SF in the Grand Tradition, St. Martin's Griffin (New York, NY), 1998.

(Coeditor) Roads Not Taken: Tales of Alternate History, Del Rey/Ballantine (New York, NY), 1998.

(With Sheila Williams) Isaac Asimov's Camelot, Ace Books (New York, NY), 1998.

(With Jack M. Dann) Nanotech, Ace Books (New York, NY), 1998.

The Good New Stuff: Adventure SF in the Grand Tradition, St. Martin's Griffin (New York, NY), 1999.

(Coeditor) Isaac Asimov's Valentines, Ace Books (New York, NY), 1999.

(With Sheila Williams) Isaac Asimov's Solar System, Ace Books (New York, NY), 1999.

(With Sheila Williams) Isaac Asimov's Utopias, Ace Books (New York, NY), 2000.

The Mammoth Book of Best New Science Fiction: Thirteenth Annual Collection, Robinson (London, England), 2000.

Explorers: SF Adventures to Far Horizons, St. Martin's Griffin (New York, NY), 2000.

The Furthest Horizon: SF Adventures to the Far Future, St. Martin's Griffin (New York, NY), 2000.

(With Jack M. Dann) Aliens among Us, Ace Books (New York, NY), 2000.

(With Jack M. Dann) Space Soldiers, Ace Books (New York, NY), 2000.

(With Sheila Williams) Isaac Asimov's Mother's Day, Ace Books (New York, NY), 2000.

(With Jack M. Dann) Armageddons, Turtleback Books, 2000.

(With Jack M. Dann) Genometry, Ace Books (New York, NY), 2001.

(With Sheila Williams) Isaac Asimov's Father's Day, Ace Books (New York, NY), 2001.

(With Sheila Williams) Isaac Asimov's Halloween, Ace Books (New York, NY), 2001.

Worldmakers: SF Adventures in Terraforming, St. Martin's Griffin (New York, NY), 2001.

Supermen: Tales of the Posthuman Future, St. Martin's Griffin (New York, NY), 2002.

(With Jack M. Dann) Beyond Flesh, Ace Books (New York, NY), 2002.

(With Jack M. Dann) Future Sports, Ace Books (New York, NY), 2002.

(With Jack M. Dann) Future Crimes, Berkley (New York, NY), 2003.

(With Jack M. Dann) Future Past, Berkley (New York, NY), 2003.

(With Jack M. Dann) A.I.s, Berkley (New York, NY), 2004.

(With Jack M. Dann) Robots, Ace Books (New York, NY), 2005.

(With Jack M. Dann) Beyond Singularity, Ace Books (New York, NY), 2005.

One Million A.D., Science Fiction Book Club (Garden City, NY), 2005.

Best of the Best: 20 Years of the Year's Best Science Fiction, St. Martin's Griffin (New York, NY), 2005.

Galileo's Children: Tales of Science vs. Superstition, Pyr (Amherst, NY), 2005.

Nebula Awards Showcase 2006, Roc Trade (New York, NY), 2006.

The Best of the Best, Volume 2: 20 Years of the Best Short Science Fiction Novels, St. Martin's Griffin (New York, NY), 2007.

(With Jack M. Dann) Wizards: Magical Tales from the Masters of Modern Fantasy, Berkley Books (New York, NY), 2007.

(With Jonathan Strahan) The New Space Opera, Eos (New York, NY), 2007.

Also editor of Dinosaurs! Contributor of science fiction short stories to periodicals, including Playboy, Omni, Penthouse, Oui, Analog, and Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine.

SIDELIGHTS:

Gardner Dozois is perhaps best known for his several years of service at the helm of Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine, as well as for the many anthologies of short science fiction he has edited, alone and with others. He is also a writer, however, and has won the prestigious Nebula Award for his own short science fiction stories, "The Peacemaker" and "Morning Child." Dozois wrote a novel, Strangers, which appeared in 1978. According to a writer for the fourth edition of the St. James Guide to Science Fiction Writers, in Strangers, "Dozois presents Joseph Faber, a human from Earth with an alien lover named Liraun." The writer explains that the couple is "shunned by the nonhuman Cian and the human trade community," and that "in this tremendously sad story, Dozois develops the theme of alienation, and the impossibility of ever knowing another person—hence the title Strangers." The writer commented: "This very moving novel is one of the forgotten and ignored classics of the 1970s." Many of Dozois's own short science fiction stories appeared in the 1992 collection Geodesic Dreams: The Best Short Fiction of Gardner Dozois. This volume prompted a Publishers Weekly contributor to label the author and editor "one of the genre's most exciting writers."

Dozois has also won many awards for his work as an editor. Alone and with others such as Jack M. Dann, Mike Resnick, and Sheila Williams, he has edited collections of similarly themed stories culled from various issues of Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine. These titles include Future Earths: Under South American Skies, which, according to a Publishers Weekly contributor, "transports readers to South American latitudes that are as exotic and exciting as the farthest stars"; and Modern Classics of Fantasy, which prompted Roland Green in Booklist to announce that "as an introduction to modern American fantasy, this book could hardly be surpassed." Though Dozois possesses many editorial credits of this type, he is even more strongly associated with his yearly collections, The Year's Best Science Fiction, which he began editing in 1984. Reviewers of these volumes frequently use superlatives to describe them, and they typically include tales by such science fiction greats as Nancy Kress, Ian R. MacLeod, Ursula K. LeGuin, Ben Bova, and Robert Silverberg, as well as others by rising stars in the genre. As J. Stephen Bolhafner wrote in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, "there is no one source that will give you as good a feel for the possibilities of the science fiction genre, and how those possibilities were fulfilled last year, than this annual collection."

With Modern Classic Short Novels of Science Fiction, one of a series of books covering the "classics" in the genre and a companion to Modern Classics of Fantasy, Dozois attempts to define which novels of the formative period of science fiction that is now referred to as the Golden Age have held up in such a way that they may be considered the canonical works of the genre, serving as the foundation for the many works that came after them. Rounding out this series is Modern Classics of Science Fiction, which limits itself to the short stories of the genre. John Kessel, reviewing the books for the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, acknowledges that the definition of the science fiction genre is very much in the eye of the beholder, making Dozois's collections different than any other editor's would be. Kessel wrote: "Dozois's science fiction often has little to do with technology. More important than the scientific background is strong emotional, sometimes melodramatic content."

Although Dozois stepped down from his position as editor of Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine in 2004 to focus more on his own writing, he continues to edit numerous anthologies. In Galileo's Children: Tales of Science vs. Superstition, Dozois features such legendary science fiction writers as Arthur C. Clarke, George R.R. Martin, and Robert Silverberg. Rob H. Bedford, writing on the SFFWorld.com Web site, noted the author's introductions to each of the stories. Bedford wrote: "Each introduction is an insightful encapsulation of the writer, which serves to contextualize each story as a part of the greater whole of the anthology." Bedford also commented: "This book is a great opportunity to discover, or rediscover, both older stories as well as a few new stories, all powerful tales of science fiction from the most prestigious name over the past few decades." Tim Gebhart, writing on the Strange Horizons Web site, opined that "the tales here are relevant to some of today's hot-button issues."

In another collection titled One Million A.D., Dozois presents six stories "sharing a theme centering on far-far-far-future human, and post-human, civilizations," noted Rob H. Bedford on the SFFWorld.com Web site. In a review on the SFSite Web site, Peter D. Tillman noted the anthology's "stellar lineup" and wrote: "This is the strongest original-story anthology I've read in awhile."

Best of the Best: 20 Years of the Year's Best Science Fiction includes several stories that won Hugo Awards. "Dozois's knowledgeable introductions put the pieces in perspective for readers new to the genre," wrote a Kirkus Reviews contributor. The reviewer went on to claim that "any attempt to assess recent short SF and fantasy will have to begin with this well-edited and essential anthology." Dozois focuses on the novella for his collection The Best of the Best, Volume 2: 20 Years of the Best Short Science Fiction Novels. Featuring such novellas as Robert Silverberg's Sailing to Byzantium and Frederik Pohl's Outnumbering the Dead, the collection was referred to by a Publishers Weekly contributor as an "outstanding follow-up" to the first volume of Best of the Best. Carl Hays, writing in Booklist, commented that Dozois's "keen eye for talent makes the collection an indispensable treasury."

Dozois collaborated with Jack M. Dann to edit Wizards, which showcases stories featuring wizards and witches. In a review of Wizards in Publishers Weekly, a contributor wrote that "this magical brew will enchant young adult readers and their elders as well." Dozois has also continued to edit The Year's Best Science Fiction. The twenty-second annual collection, published in 2005, was referred to as "an indispensable and entertaining omnibus for every sf collection," by Booklist contributor Carl Hays.

In Supermen: Tales of the Posthuman Future, Dozois collects twenty-six short stories, all previously published, that center on the theme of human engineering and its potentially horrific consequences for the future of humankind. Dozois focuses on stories that deal specifically with what James Blish refers to as "pantropy" in his entry, or the specific engineering of human beings so that they are able to survive in other environments. In several of the stories included in the anthology, these types of changes result in humans with very inhuman urges or abilities, including the preference for interfacing with a spaceship over a live human being, or a contentment with the status quo that wipes out all natural desire for change. Roland Green, reviewing the anthology for Booklist, found it to be a collection of "high-quality stories, impressively various, that altogether soundly cover a theme that is likely to increase in importance." A contributor for Kirkus Reviews dubbed the collection "entertaining and thought-provoking."

The New Space Opera, which Dozois edited with Jonathan Strahan, offers readers a collection of eighteen new short stories, all of which were written specifically for this volume. There is always a risk, with collections of new fiction as opposed to "best of" anthologies, that there will be some stories that are of lesser qualities than others, particularly when trying to keep to a theme such as is the case with this volume. However, critics found the entries in this book to be uniformly worth reading. Dozois and Strahan included a wealth of material from some of the most noted names in the genre, including Greg Egan, Kage Baker, Ian McDonald, and Nancy Kress. While the stories remain true to the space opera subgenre, they still achieve a variety of theme and context, ranging from an "Arabian Nights" homage to nanotech and post-apocalyptic futuristic settings. Carl Hays, in a review for Booklist, declared that "this collection of some of the finest tale-spinning the subgenre has to offer delivers hours of exhilarating reading." Library Journal contributor Charli Osborne commented that "the collection shows both remarkable diversity and cohesiveness." Speaking to the space opera theme, a reviewer for Publishers Weekly remarked that the collection "shows how the genre's purveyors have updated it, with rigorous science, well-drawn characters and excellent writing."

The science fiction novel Hunter's Run is a collaboration between Dozois and fellow science fiction writers George R.R. Martin and Daniel Abraham. In this science fiction adventure, humankind has finally gained sufficient technology and prowess in the art of space travel to reach other galaxies far beyond its own. However, upon reaching these distant worlds, human explorers discover that many other races from other galaxies have arrived before them, having been more advanced in their technological experiments and development of space travel. As a result, humankind is forced to make due with colonizing the planets considered inhospitable or even entirely uninhabitable by the early-comers. One such colony planet, San Paulo, serves as the setting for this book. Ramon Espejo, an unsavory type living on San Paulo, gets into a fight with a stranger at a bar and ends up knifing him in the alley out back. The man turns out to be a European diplomat, so Ramon goes on the run. He flees to the north, into a region of the planet that has not been settled or even explored. Ramon decides to explore it on his own and to indulge in some prospecting, hopeful that he will make his fortune. Instead, in the act of attempting to dislodge some mineral samples from a mountain, he ends up causing the mountain itself to fall on him, and discovers a new race of aliens in the process. So begins an entirely new set of problems for Ramon. A reviewer for Publishers Weekly remarked of the book that "this tightly written novel, with its memorable protagonist and intriguing extrapolation, delivers on all levels." At the Books for a Buck Web site, one contributor found the book "surprisingly effective at a number of levels, with muted lessons about our own world, thought-provoking questions about what it means to be a human, and with a strong character arc."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

BOOKS

St. James Guide to Science Fiction Writers, 4th edition, St. James Press (Detroit, MI), 1996.

PERIODICALS

Booklist, December 1, 1996, Roland Green, review of Modern Classics of Fantasy, p. 643; November 15, 2001, Roland Green, review of Supermen: Tales of the Posthuman Future, p. 560; June 1, 2002, Roland Green, review of The Year's Best Science Fiction, Nineteenth Annual Collection, p. 1699; July 1, 2003, Roland Green, review of The Year's Best Science Fiction, Twentieth Annual Collection, p. 1877; July 1, 2004, Carl Hays, review of The Year's Best Science Fiction, Twenty-first Annual Collection, p. 1830; July 1, 2005, Carl Hays, review of The Year's Best Science Fiction, Twenty-second Annual Collection, p. 1912; August 1, 2005, Carl Hays, review of Galileo's Children: Tales of Science vs. Superstition, p. 2008; December 15, 2006, Carl Hays, review of The Best of the Best, Volume 2: 20 Years of the Best Short Science Fiction Novels, p. 30; May 15, 2007, Carl Hays, review of The New Space Opera, p. 34.

Kirkus Reviews, November 1, 2001, review of Supermen, p. 1523; May 15, 2002, review of The Year's Best Science Fiction, Nineteenth Annual Collection, p. 712; June 15, 2003, review of The Year's Best Science Fiction, Twentieth Annual Collection, p. 839; January 15, 2005, review of Best of the Best: 20 Years of the Year's Best Science Fiction, p. 89; November 15, 2006, review of The Best of the Best, Volume 2, p. 1158.

Library Journal, May 15, 2003, Jackie Cassada, review of The Year's Best Science Fiction, Twentieth Annual Collection, p. 132; July 1, 2005, Jackie Cassada, review of The Year's Best Science Fiction, Twenty-second Annual Collection, p. 73; August 1, 2005, Sara Rutter, review of Galileo's Children, p. 76; May 15, 2007, Jackie Cassada, review of Wizards: Magical Tales from the Masters of Modern Fantasy, p. 83; June 15, 2007, Charli Osborne, review of The New Space Opera, p. 62.

Locus, December, 1997, author interview; July, 2002, Gary K. Wolfe, "Locus Looks at Books," pp. 17, 19, 58.

Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, April, 1994, John Kessel, review of Modern Classics of Science Fiction, p. 18; April 1, 2002, Robert K.J. Killheffer, review of The Year's Best Science Fiction, Eighteenth Annual Collection, p. 36.

Publishers Weekly, September 14, 1992, review of Geodesic Dreams, pp. 114-115; July 5, 1993, review of Future Earths: Under South American Skies, p. 68; June 9, 2003, review of The Year's Best Science Fiction, Twentieth Annual Collection, p. 40; June 28, 2004, review of The Year's Best Science Fiction, Twenty-first Annual Collection, p. 36; June 20, 2005, review of The Year's Best Science Fiction, Twenty-second Annual Collection, p. 63; December 4, 2006, review of The Best of the Best, Volume 2, p. 39; April 9, 2007, review of Wizards, p. 36; April 30, 2007, review of The New Space Opera, p. 143; November 5, 2007, review of Hunter's Run, p. 48.

St. Louis Post-Dispatch, August 31, 1997, J. Stephen Bolhafner, "As Usual, Dozois' Collection Is Best in Genre," p. 5C.

Skeptic, fall, 2005, John C. Snider, "What Galileo Wrought."

ONLINE

Boing Boing,http://boingboing.net/ (April 20, 2004), "Gardner Dozois Stepping down from Asimov's."

Books for a Buck,http://www.booksforabuck.com/ (April 9, 2008), review of Hunter's Run.

Infinity Plus,http://www.infinityplus.co.uk/ (July 10, 2007), Keith Brooke, review of The Year's Best Science Fiction, Fourteenth Annual Collection.

SFFWorld.com,http://www.sffworld.com/ (July 10, 2007), Rob H. Bedford, review of Galileo's Children and One Million A.D.

SFSite,http://www.sfsite.com/ (July 10, 2007), Peter D. Tillman, review of One Million A.D.; Mario Guslandi, review of Galileo's Children; Charlene Brusso, review of The Year's Best Science Fiction, Seventeenth Annual Collection; Nick Gevers, review of The Year's Best Science Fiction, Eighteenth Annual Collection; Peter D. Tillman, review of Isaac Asimov's Solar System; John O'Neill, review of The Good Old Stuff: Adventure SF in the Grand Tradition; Mark Shainblum, review of Roads Not Taken: Tales of Alternate History; and Jayme Lynn Blaschke, "A Conversation with Gardner Dozois."

Strange Horizons,http://www.strangehorizons.com/ (June 5, 2006), Matthew Cheney, review of One Million A.D.